


LOONAtheSkyrim

by seldomly_orbit



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21965062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seldomly_orbit/pseuds/seldomly_orbit
Summary: Jeon Heejin travels to the land of Skyrim in search of an opportunity to begin her music career. However, she is caught up in an ambush of a bloody civil war that plagues the land and is taken to get executed with the soldiers. Alduin, the 'world-eater', interrupts the execution and burns everything down, allowing her to escape into the unforgiving frozen land of Skyrim and begin her quest of saving the world from the very same dragon that saved her. Along with her friends, she'll discover a heritage unbeknownst to her and a whole new world she never imagined she'd experience.LOONA but it's The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim (a video game). Read along to follow LOONA in the land of magic, dungeons and dragons, elves, monsters, ancient prophecies, swords and stuff, and more.
Kudos: 24





	1. Rough Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> The plot will follow a majority of the events of the Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and thus, most things will be understood by those who have already played the game. However, I wanted to make this an enjoyable read for anyone and everyone, so if I seem to explain things in detail, it's for those people who haven't played the game. That being said, this story will have MAJOR spoilers for the game, and if you plan to play the game for yourself, I highly suggest you do that first. But I won't stop you from reading! This idea was born out of the love for the two most things I cherish; Loona and the Elder Scrolls series. Why Skyrim? It's the most memorable game I've played in my life and continue to play (despite the amount of glitches). It seemed like a fun idea to do.  
> Huge Note: I have done deep research of the Elder Scrolls lore, so if there are a few things that you seasoned players don't know about, my research stemmed from the events of other games and general lore presented in the games. Please reach out to me for any questions that you may have on lore.
> 
> And with that, I hope you enjoy reading!

_The steps up the Throat of the World were unusually long, given the already winding steps up the mountain was extensive. My Lunar sword was brand new, refined, and awaited to be plunged deeply into the World Eater’s scales. The Wheel turned upon me and I rose up as the last piece of the prophecy. Everything that has been fought for, every arrow, every spell, every shout, and every scar gained was coming together for that moment. The girls who helped me every step of the way, everyone that I loved and cared for, were beside me, waiting for me to fulfill my destiny and put an end to the suffering. I couldn’t let them down at this point._

_…_

_The sky was streaked with burning meteors and the flapping of heavy wings filled my ears. My head was bleeding and my vision was blurry. The figure of a girl lay in front of me, and her body was sprawled onto the singed snow beneath her. She was dazed, but thankfully still alive._

_“Boziik, Dovahkiin. You are bold. But a fool.”_

_The deep voice descended over her body. With a face of fear, she outstretched her hand to me, but I felt a numbness in my body. There was a tear in the corner of my eye as I watched blood spill over the snow. Why couldn’t I move? What was I afraid of? A mass of fire was hurling towards me, but I wanted it to engulf me in a searing pain. So as it got closer, I let it. The world turned to me to save it, but I could not save mine._

_-_

Heejin awoke startled and struggled to breathe. She was sweating and shocked from the dream she just had.

“Hey, hey, take it easy now!”

Heejin tried catching her breathe. “Where am I?” She took a few seconds to look around. She was in a moving wagon. “What’s going on?” Was she still dreaming?

An older, blonde man spoke, “You were trying to cross the border. Walked right into that Imperial ambush. Same as us, and that thief over there.”

The alleged thief in rags looked offended and then scowled. “Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn’t been looking for you, I could’ve stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell.”

The Empire? Stormcloaks? Heejin wondered if there was some sort of conflict going on. She didn’t hear anything about this back home in Cyrodiil. Then again, she wasn’t too concerned about any of the issues going on since she was working most of the time. She peered around the area and saw many passing snow covered trees. The air was chilly and nipped at her ears and nose. She tried reaching for her amulet of Akatosh, but found that her hands were bound together with rope.

“You there.” 

She looked up at the horse thief.

He leaned in towards her. “You and me, we shouldn’t be here. It’s these Stormcloaks the Empire wants.”

The blonde man talked back, “We’re all brothers and sisters in binds now.”

The thief took on a look of great discontent again. He turned around to look at the other occupant on the wagon. This man had long, dirty-blonde hair and wore clothes that seemed fit for someone of a high status, nothing like the blonde soldier wore. He had a cloth gag in his mouth. “And what’s wrong with him?”

“Watch your tongue!” the blonde man snapped. “You’re speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!”

“ Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You’re the leader of the rebellion. But if they captured you…” A look of realization came over the thief’s face. “Oh gods, where are they taking us?”

“I don’t know where we’re going, but Sovngarde awaits.”

Heejin was beyond confused and worried. The leader of the rebellion? So there was a civil war going on. If they were with the leader of the Stormcloaks, then something awaited them once the wagon came to its destination. Perhaps a trial or a hearing. But she was just a traveler, a citizen of Cyrodiil and therefore the Empire, there was no way they were going to mix her up into all of this.

The wagon went past beyond a gate and some village houses . There was a huge fort coming up and a crowd of soldiers wearing Imperial armor were watching them.

“Why are we stopping?” the thief said.

“Why do you think? It’s the end of the line,” the soldier responded as he hopped off the wagon.

Heejin hopped off. She took a look around the scene. There was a priest situated at a block on the ground, and hooded man stood staring with a huge axe in his hand. She was beginning to worry now.

A woman in heavy Imperial armor yelled out from the crowd. “Come to the block when we call up your name, one at a time. Come on, let’s move it!” The horse thief was becoming increasingly restless. His eyes kept dashing to every soldier and corner of the area. A man with a list began calling out names.

“Ulfric Stormcloak!”

The man with the cloth gag in his mouth stepped forward and towards the block.

“Ralof of Riverwood!”

The blonde soldier came forward as well.

Things finally began to click inside Heejin’s head. The priest, the hooded man with the axe, the leader of a rebellion, the soldier saying that this was the end of the line… This was an execution. They were lining them up for execution and she was going to die with the rest of them. _Crap. I’m not dreaming, this is real. So real. Maybe they’ll leave the horse thief alone? If so, I could probably plead my way out._

“Lokir of Rorikstead!”

The thief was trembling from head to toe and cautiously stepped forward “I’m not a rebel! You can’t do this!” He began running as fast as he could back from where they came from, hoping that he would be able to make it out of sight. “You’re not gonna catch me!”

The heavy armored woman yelled, “Archers!” At once, the soldiers the man ran past launched a storm of arrows into him. His body fell over, very much dead indeed. Heejin had just seen him talking a few minutes ago. “Anyone else feel like running?”

The man with the list turned his attention towards Heejin. “Who are you?”

She began to sweat again. Should she lie? No, she’ll state her true intentions, maybe that way they’ll let her go. “Heejin. J-Jeon Heejin. I’m from Cyrodiil. I’m just trying to work here."

The man looked confused. He looked down on his list. “Captain what do we do? She’s not on the list.”

“Nevermind the list, she goes to the block,” the woman said dismissively.

 _Shit,_ Heejin thought. True panic began to rise in her chest. “Wait, there’s been some mistake, I don’t belong in this group, I’m a citizen of the Empire, I was just trying to ge-”

“Shut up!” the captain demanded. “We’re on a tight time right here and you’re going.”

The man holding the list looked at her apologetically. “I’m sorry, prisoner. We’ll make sure your remains go back to Cyrodiil.”

 _Shit shit SHIT._ Heejin felt her chest filled with a strange coldness that spread throughout her body, her limbs were going numb, and she became very light-headed. There was no way she was going to end up dead in a place she just barely came to. No, no, no, this wasn’t how it was supposed to be at all. She looked around to see if she could escape, but it probably wasn’t worth it. She didn’t want to end up like the thief that got shot down earlier.

A man in an adorned armor stepped forward to address a prisoner. “Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen may call you a hero. But a hero doesn’t use a power like the voice to murder his king and reserve his throne.” Ulfric grunted. The man continued, “You started this war! Plunged Skyrim into chaos. And now the Empire is going to put you down!”

Suddenly, a distant but clear roar rose from the mountains.

Everyone looked up. Heejin felt something in her chest rise up, an almost primal feeling of pure rage, unlike anything she’s ever felt. _I’m just scared,_ she thought. _I’m scared, I’m gonna die, and there’s nothing I can do about it._

She looked down to see a Stormcloak soldier get his head placed down on the stone block. A wooden crate lay at its side to catch the heads.

The soldier’s face was turned away, but his fearlessness at the situation shone through. “My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?” he proclaimed. With that, the headsman lifted his large axe over his head and let it fall squarely onto the prisoner’s neck. The sound of his spine cracking with little effort and the soldier’s head falling into the crate was almost enough to make Heejin faint.

“Next, the women in the rags!”

 _Fuck fuck fuck_! Heejin’s feet were stuck to the ground. There was no escaping her fate, but she felt that if she stalled, perhaps she’ll savor the few seconds of life she still had.

The roar came again closer and everyone could definitely hear it. Everyone began murmuring and become restless. Strangely, Heejin felt that same feeling she felt when she heard the first roar.

“I said next prisoner,” the captain snapped and pointed at Heejin.

This was it.

She walked forward with trembling steps to the bloodied block, the previous occupant’s head still fresh in the crate. She was pushed down onto the block and felt her neck already going numb, tears spilling from her eyes. She saw the headsman bring his axe up and felt every part of her being freeze up. _Kynareth, Julianos, Mara, Akatosh, Divines, please help me. Please take care of my family. Ma, pa, Yikyung, Yoonkyung, I’m so sorry. I love all of you._ She closed her tearful eyes and held her breathe in, awaiting her fate.

The roar came again, but this time it was right above.

“What in Oblivion is that?”

Heejin opened her eyes in time to see a large, black dragon land on the stone fort in front of her. For a second, they met eyes, and she did not know what to think. It’s eyes were red and it was adorned with great spikes all over its body. That strange feeling of rage came again, but it was deadened by the fear of this new situation. The dragon roared again and the sky immediately began to grow dark with storm clouds and fiery meteor showers.

“FUS RO DAH” The force of the shout knocked Heejin further into the ground.

Arrows were launched into the sky and swords were unsheathed from their scabbards. “Don’t just stand there, do something! Kill that damn thing!”

“YOL TOOR SHUL” The dragon shouted and a large storm of fire swept the area.

“Guards get as many people as possible to safety!”

Heejin lay there with her head down, dazed from the blast and not knowing what to do. “What are you doing? Get up!” Ralof yelled. Heejin immediately got up and saw the soldier beckoning her.

“The gods won’t give us another chance.” The man pressed on. “Get to that keep over there! Hurry!”

Unwilling to face death again, she ran towards the keep, trying to avoid as many of the falling rocks as she could. Once inside, she was finally able to process what had just happened.

“What the fuck just happened?” she said out loud.

Ralof gasped out. “I don’t know, but gods have mercy. Jarl Ulfric, could the legends be true?”

“Legends don’t burn down villages,” Ulfric responded. He looked at the door. “But we need to move, now! Before the Imperials get to us!”

A large rumble was heard outside. “We need to head up this tower, let’s go!” Ralof exclaimed.

Heejin was the first to run up the steps, but her legs got twisted and she fell down on the final one. _Crap!_ A Stormcloak soldier saw that she fell and went over to try to help her up. Suddenly, the wall of the keep burst open and the soldier went hurling. The black dragon was a mere centimeters away from her face and they looked at each other once again.

“YOL... TOOR SHUL”

She got out of the way just in time to avoid the dragon’s fiery breath and heard it fly away. _Too close._

Ralof caught up with her and surveyed the ground below. “See that inn over there? Jump through the roof and keep going!”

Heejin peered over the side and wasn’t sure she was able to make the jump. She had never done anything like this. She just hoped the gods were still with her. She jumped, but not without burning her leg as she passed through a fiery post.

“Shit!” She felt her the right side of her left leg screaming, but this was no time to pause. She had to continue on. She jumped down a level and kneeled down. She saw that the dragon was circling outside to land, and decided to stay put. Sure enough, the dragon landed and a young boy got out of the way just in time before the dragon let out more fire. She got up and went outside once the dragon had taken off again.

The soldier that was calling out the prisoner names earlier turned to her and said, “Still alive prisoner? Keep close to me if you want to stay that way!” Heejin ran past him. Her instincts were kicking in and she wanted to get out of there.

She ran towards a broken staircase where the wall closed in on a house. “Lean up against the wall!” the soldier hollered. She glanced up and the dragon landed on the wall right by them, it breathed fire into a screaming crowd of people. Once it flew up again, they were on the move.

In the clearing, Heejin ran past several dead bodies and people engulfed in flames. There were others whose bodies were smoldered badly yet they remained conscious and could do nothing but stare blankly in silence. Her heart hurt, but she could do nothing but run past and continue on to safety. Heejin saw that a gate was wide open, and began running faster towards the gate when she realized there was nothing blocking or guarding it. 

The Imperial soldier shouted, “What are you doing? I can get you to safety this way!"

Heejin stopped and looked back. “I’m sorry, but I’m not staying any longer in this godforsaken place. I’m getting out of here as quickly as possible.”

The soldier shrugged. “Have it your way. Gods guide you and good luck.” He headed the other way towards a large stone keep.

She shook her head. “He’s an idiot. There’s an exit right here,” she said as she ran past the gates, into the forest, and to her freedom.

\--

Heejin didn’t know where she was going or how long she was running. She dodged branches here and there and got multiple scratches from foliage. Her leg was searing still, but there wasn’t really anything she could do with her hands still bound together. She just kept going until she could no longer hear the sounds of the burning village, screaming people, and the dragon’s roars.

Finally, she stopped to catch her breath and peered over the outline of the trees on the hill she stood on. Her chest was rising and falling, and her mouth was dry. Everything seemed to be brighter, yet blurry. She could see a lake not too far in the distance and figured she could refresh by the water.

_Crunch._

A twig snapped and there was a rustling in some bushes. Heejin looked back. She swore she could see a hand, but when she looked again, it was gone. She hesitated to look, but began to run again, not wanting to get caught by whatever creature was lurking in the trees.

She could see where the land met the water, and began to slow her running down. “Finally, some peace,” she groaned. The burn wound on her leg was throbbing and tingling more than ever. She went into the cold water to soothe it, and winced as the pain was immediately followed by cold relief. After a few minutes, she got out and fell down on the sandy shoreline.

The day’s events began to catch up to her. She didn’t think this was how she was going to be welcomed into Skyrim. She remembered she didn’t know where to go, what to do, and she didn’t know anything about the land or the people. She got captured in a civil war quarrel, and got clumped with all of them for execution. How was it that her own Empire dismissed her? If it wasn’t for the dragon, she surely would have been dead by now. The head chopping was enough trauma to deal with, but the dragon experience was terrifying enough on its own.

Heejin sighed. She looked down at her amulet of Akatosh. It was the only reminder of home and of her sisters and parents. Maybe she should have stayed home in Cyrodiil with her family. Her home province had many opportunities, and she could definitely get a musical career started if she really put herself out there. It didn’t matter. She should try finding a city and find a caravan to go back home. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that something back home was signaling her to come here, to Skyrim. The feeling was only intensified when she came face to face with that black dragon she saw back in Helgen. Was there really something out there that was waiting for her? She shook her head. All she wanted was to rest.

Her thoughts were cut off by an arm suddenly covering her mouth.

“Don’t fucking move or I’ll gut you. I mean it.”

Heejin felt a sharp dagger slide against her throat. Oh no. She just got out of a dangerous situation and was getting into another. She felt a panic rise in her chest and shuddered.

“I told you not fucking move. Now stay still.”

The pressure on her throat was lifted, and she could feel the assailant fumble with her necklace. Heejin’s hands were tied up in front, and she could tell the person most likely only wanted her jewelry and not a fight.

She waited until the thief was almost done removing her necklace. In a swift movement, Heejin raised her bound fists over her head and hit them on the head.

“Ow! Hey, what the-”

With the few seconds she was given, Heejin tackled the thief down to get them away from the necklace and tried to get up. The thief, confused, fumbled to get a grip on her dagger and necklace, and pulled Heejin back down.

“You’re not getting away that easy,” the thief sneered and got up.

Heejin kicked them in squarely in the knee and the thief once again fell over in pain. Heejin tried using her foot to pick the necklace up, but the thief tripped her leg and she fell down. As the thief tried to get up, Heejin caught sight of a tail from under the cloak.

Heejin angled her hands at the thief’s tail and sent a conjoined fireball spell from both of her hands at it. The thief yelped and dropped their dagger and Heejin ran to stand over it. The thief tried putting out the fire and then pulled back her hood to reveal a human face filled with terror.

The strange girl yelled. “Hey, HEY! I’ll give you your necklace back, just don’t hurt me, okay? PLEASE!”

Heejin lowered her hands down and ceased her fireball spell. She eyed the dagger.

“Untie me,”

“What?” the girl asked confused.

“The dagger! Untie me now,” Heejin persisted.

“Wait no, I mean YES! I mean, are you going to promise not to throw a fireball at me?”

Heejin paused. “Only if you promise to give me my necklace back,”

The girl looked uncertain for a second. “Why do you want it back so bad?”

“On Mara, just give it to me or I’ll burn you!”

“Okay, okay! I’ll do it.” 

The girl hesitantly came up to Heejin and leaned down to place the necklace by her foot. She grabbed her daedric dagger and quickly broke through the bindings. 

“Thank you,” Heejin said. She was finally free. She felt some sort of peace with the rope around her hands gone. She flexed her hands around and picked up her necklace. It was an amulet of Akatosh, the amulet itself it made out of pure gold, so she could see why this thief was so stubborn in keeping it.

The girl seemed like she wanted to flee but also wanted to stay. “Y-you’re strong. I mean I’m strong, but I swear I thought you were harmless,” she mustered out. 

“Yeah, well you caught me on a bad day. I’ve been traveling for some time now from Cyrodiil, and I haven’t had a good night’s rest since then. Then, I got captured trying to get into Skyrim, and unfortunately there’s a civil war going on so there was a group… of Stormcloaks? I think they’re called Stormcloaks... So I got grouped in with the Stormcloaks to go to the chopping block. And I was on the chopping block, about to get my head chopped off, and then a dragon came out, and it began burning everything down, so I escaped trying to find a place to stay at safely. But then you came along and I thought you were going to kill me, but you were going to take the last thing that I have from home, and well I’m sorry my instincts came in,” Heejin sighed out, “ but I’ve had a long day...”

The girl’s eyes widened. “You saw the dragon too? I thought I was imagining it or had some moon sugar or something.”

“No, it was real alright. I had it in front of my face when it broke a wall,” Heejin leaned back on a nearby rock. “I just came here to make something out of myself to send back to my family. Guess I came to the wrong province at the wrong time. I probably should have gone to the Imperial city instead. Don’t know why I felt like I had to come here, but I guess it was like my inner instincts were telling me to,” she chuckled, paused and looked up. “It’s stupid. I don’t know why I’m letting this all out to the thief that just threatened to slit my throat and steal my necklace.”

The girl was listening attentively. She stiffened up when she noticed she was being watched and rubbed the back of her head.“I-it’s fine. Hey look, I’m sorry about everything that happened to you. I didn’t know. I’m just trying to make a living here, and since the country is in flames right now, I thought I should take a chance to make some bread. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered you. Sorry about all this.”

“At least you didn’t kill me. I’m still alive,” Heejin snickered.

“At least you’re still alive. That’s always good.” The girl smiled and let her guard down a little.

They stood in silence. Heejin didn’t know if the girl was going to try anything else, so she kept eyeing her. A sharp pain ran through her leg and she bent down to put her hand on it.

“Hey, you alright?” The girl said.

“Hm? Oh, my leg’s just.. A bit busted. It got burned when I was.. Jumping down into a burning building,” Heejin winced.

“I got something for that,” the girl said and rummaged through her leather bag. She took out a little red bottle and held it out for Heejin to take.

Heejin eyed the bottle. “What’s this?”

“A healing potion. It might not do much for the scar afterwards, but maybe it’ll make you feel better. You drink it.” 

Heejin grabbed the bottle and took the lid off. She cautiously sniffed it.

“It’s not poison, I’m not going to kill you,” the girl said.

“I’m just making sure,” Heejin smirked.

“I’ll leave you to wallow in your pain then,” the girl teased.

“Fine, fine.” Heejin gulped down the potion and after a few seconds, felt the pain in her leg subside. “Hey, that worked.”

The girl grinned. “What’d I tell you? Magic shit.”

They both laughed.

“I could… help you,” the girl started after a few seconds. “I can take you to the nearest city. I mean, at least one where I’m not on the run. You’re going to die out here if you’re new to this country. So at least in the cities you can start up your life. Let’s get you suited up first, get you some gold, some food.”

Heejin was surprised. “Really? This isn’t some trick of yours to get me to fork over my necklace?”

The girl scoffed. “I would have taken it already.”

“Riiight,” Heejin retorted.

“Shut up.” The girl opened up her bag again and took out an ebony dagger. “Here, one of my best daggers. Don’t lose it, ‘cause I stole it off some dumb mercenary. You can use it against me if I try anything.” She slid it into Heejin’s makeshift rope belt.

Heejin was confused. After everything that she’s been through today, she wasn’t expecting handouts. She took out the dagger from its sheath and took a good glance at it. It sure did look like a bloody good dagger. She looked up at the girl and realized this was the first time she took a really good look at her. She was wearing a black armor made out of leather with some belt with little bags across it and a cloak. Most of her face was under a hood she wore, but strands of her black hair spilled out and her brown eyes were shining bright.

“Are you sure I can have it?”

The girl nodded. “On the house, from your new tour guide.”

Heejin was still confused. “Why are you helping me?”

The girl glanced down for a second before answering, “It’s just… you’ve had a rough day and I feel a little bad about making you feel worse. And hey, I needed to head over to a city anyway. Maybe you’ll be useful in fighting things off on the way for me.”

There were slight tears on the corners of Heejin’s eyes. But she blinked them away. “Thank you... thief.” 

“Call me Hyunjin,” the girl smirked.

“Hyunjin? I’m Heejin!” Heejin said excitedly. “Look at us, we’re two-jins!”

“Look at that. It’s like we were fated to meet each other, despite the rocky beginning,”

They laughed again.

“Hey, what’s up with your tail by the way?” Heejin said as she looked at Hyunjin’s tail flick.

“Oh that? I’m a Khajiit.”

Heejin was puzzled. “You don’t look like any Khajiit I’ve seen in Cyrodiil. You don’t have… the ears. And whiskers and all that… You don’t look like a cat.”

Hyunjin laughed. “I’m an Ohmes-Raht. It’s a sub-type of Khajiit, and our different forms are dictated by the phases of the moon. You don’t really see many of us anymore, but we’re one-hundred percent Khajiit. I’m unmistakable from humans and elves, and since the city guards don’t like letting in my more cat-like kin into the cities, it makes it easier for me to sneak in and steal. Except for the tail, but you can always hide under cloaks, you know? I usually say I’m a Bosmer elf to the suspicious guards and they leave me alone.”

“Clever cat. Can you meow? Do you purr?”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“Sorry,” Heejin cackled.

They stood around awkwardly, waiting for the other one to speak.

Heejin broke the silence first. “Sooo, are we ready to go?”

“Uh, yeah yeah.Come one, there’s a village not too far from here so you can get some decent armor and clothes. I could probably swipe you a sweetroll or something too. Those are my favorite. Oh, creme brulees are really good too. And apple dumplings, can’t wait to try those again,” Hyunjin’s mouth was already watering. “Follow me,” she warmly beckoned Heejin with her head.

Heejin was beaming. The trees were looking a little greener, and the sky a bit bluer. She noticed how beautiful the butterflies were dancing by a patch of flowers, and how sweet the air tasted. Perhaps life in this province wasn’t going to be so bad after all, so she wished that her life would become much better and more colorful from here on out. She followed behind her new companion. 

They set out on the road, unbeknownst to Heejin that her wish would set off a series of events that would forever be told for worlds to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone wondering why I made Hyunjin a Khajiit, I mean c'mon... her animal is the cat and she says 'aeong' all the time. Khajiits are the cat people of Elsweyr, a country beyond Skyrim. I specifically made her an Ohmes-Raht Khajiit, because it would have been too weird to make her a whole cat (Cathay form we usually see), but still enough to immediately be recognized as one. The Khajiit forms are dictated by the phases of the two moons which creates more than 10 highly varied forms, and Ohmes-Raht are born under Masser's new phase and Secunda's waxing phase. As taken from the ES wiki, "their height and skeletal features resemble that of Men, and at a distance they can easily be mistaken for Men." The OHMES (just Ohmes) form is another form and the most human of all Khajiit forms. Ohm-RAHT look like humans or elves (like the Ohmes), but with the added benefit of a tail is all. They may choose to tattoo or paint themselves to better identify with their Khajiit heritage. The Ohmes-Raht are referenced in the Elder Scrolls 2 (ES): Daggerfall and the Elder Scrolls Online for anyone wondering. Hope that clears up any confusion!
> 
> I don't know how often I'll be able to update, since I do go to college, but I'll try to get as much done as possible before going back in. I'll update everyone when I do post something up, so follow me @seldomly_orbit on twitter. Thank you!


	2. You're A Wizard. I'm A What Now? A Wizard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Here's the second chapter up and ready. It's kind of history heavy this time around and I don't mean to bore you all with it. It's not necessary to read the BIG chunk of lore stuff nor be able to understand it, it's just kind of there to make Kahei sound like a nerd. I'll definitely be explaining more simply later on. For my seasoned players, pretend for a hot second that the College of Winterhold is actually interesting and doesn't have less than five students. I'm sorry but that questline sucked and it had so much potential to be one of the more interesting factions. Oh well, in this story, the college is an actual busy college of actual learning.
> 
> No fighting sequences or people dying this chapter. Take a breather before we go on. As always, enjoy!

_A few days earlier before the arrival of Alduin…_

Yeojin ran up an ice slope that led to the entrance bridge to the College of Winterhold. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. I’m so la- OOF!” She slipped on the ice and fell on her face into a pile of snow.

Yeojin was incredibly late to her ‘Studies in Restoration Magic’ class and hoped that she was able to at least make the last few minutes. She had been messing around with other apprentice mages down by the icy shore of the Sea of Ghosts, but didn’t realize how long she was gone for. Being a mage was fun and she liked all the disciplines that magic offered, but sometimes she wanted something more, a feeling beyond what magic could give her. She wanted adventure, to travel, she wanted to crash blades against a band of bandits, to see the craziest things the province had to offer with a blade at her side. However, she didn’t want to disappoint her sister, who excelled in magic and strived to see Yeojin excel in the arcane arts as well.

Yeojin’s sister, Jo Haseul, is a young but promising Breton mage in the school of restoration magic, a type of magic which focuses on healing, repelling the undead, and general fundamentals in understanding the life forces of all creatures. As a member of the Synod, a school for mages in the country of Cyrodiil, she had unlimited access to a variety of resources. So far, she’s figured out a way to rapidly heal even the worst of wounds to near perfect health using only her magicka during her first year of study. This impressed the archmage and her professors so much so that they offered her a place on the school’s department board. However, she kindly declined the offer since she already had another agreement.

Haseul met Wong Kahei at the school when she first got in and have been inseparable since. Although Kahei is a Bosmer, a wood elf, she’s much more interested in scholarly matters and magic then frolicking in the woods. The one time she tried climbing trees in her youth, she fell down a long distance and lost her lower leg. Her elf clan fashioned her a prosthetic made of spare Dwemer machinery and wood, but she hasn’t gone back to climbing any trees since.

Yeojin and Haseul didn’t stay at Synod since they promised Kahei they would go with her on her research expeditions. As a cultural historian, Kahei has traveled all over the continent to gather as much information as possible about all the people of Tamriel. She hopes one day she’ll be able to shatter cultural barriers between the elves, men, and beast-folk to create a peaceful environment. So when her research called her to travel to the snowy land of Northern Tamriel, Haseul and Yeojin followed right behind. However, they never would have expected what awaited them in the frigid land of the Nords.

Yeojin got up from the snow pile and ran across the shoddy bridge into the common grounds. “If I can just get in the class without letting the professor know, maybe Haseul won’t find out,” Yeojin said as she quietly opened the grand door to the Hall of Elements. She could see the class huddled in a far off section of the atrium. She stealthily and slowly walked in the shadows to join the group of young mages being lectured then none other but Haseul herself.

“Oh crud,” Yeojin mumbled. Haseul definitely noticed by now.

“See, everyone has the potential to yield magic! Everything was created in a sort of magical sense. So when you use magic… you’re tapping into that ancient magic. The life within you drives the magic you wield and its strength. You have life to give life. Uh… the best way I can illustrate that is by saying it’s a circle. Err, cycle. It’s a cycle, and if you understand that, you will be able to tap into that energy.”

Haseul looked over the class of novice and apprentice mages furiously writing notes and tried to gulp her anxiety down. The head professor of restoration magic had reached out to Haseul and asked her to teach today’s lesson since she was considered an advanced mage. She didn’t really want to, but she also didn’t really have anything else to do.

Haseul opened up her palm and revealed a butterfly with a battered wing. “So um... when you’re attempting to heal something, try your absolute best to breathe life into it by giving it a piece of yourself. You could try thinking of something that makes you happy or a past fond memory.” She held up the butterfly to show it to the class and cast a healing spell on the small butterfly. After a few seconds, it flew away with a renewed wing and the novices gasped.

“So that’s pretty much the basic mindset. Just remember to think back on the cycle and you should have a knack for healing after,” Haseul finished. She smiled at the group awkwardly and saw Yeojin give her a thumbs up.

After a few moments, the professor stepped forward and clapped. “Thank you, Haseul. Bravo! That was very lovely of you. An excellent representative of the Synod college and restoration magic. As for the class, for our next lecture, we will review what we’ve learned about wards and attempt to practice them in a simulated combat sequence. I recommend all of you to bring some sort of fire resistance potion. That’s enough for today.”

The class groaned and then dispersed afterwards, leaving only Yeojin behind.

“Oh my heavens, Haseul, that was so bad.” Yeojin snickered as Haseul came to her side.

“It was not!” Haseul gasped. “I tried my best. Professor Marence thought I should take a stab at teaching the class, something about ‘building your character as a future distinguished educator in the healing arts’ or whatever. It’s fine I guess.” They walked out of the lecture hall together and into the common grounds outside.

“Egghead,” Yeojin murmured.

“Take that back, bean,” Haseul said.

Yeojin bumped into Haseul. “I’m kidding, Jo-star. It was pretty good for what I saw.”

“Oh yeahhh, where were you? I didn’t see you for the first forty-five minutes of the class.” Haseul peeped at Yeojin and could tell she was getting tense.

Yeojin coughed and examined the floor. “Uh… I uhm. Funny you should mention.” 

“You weren’t screwing around in the library and eating on the books, were you? I mean me too, but the librarian hates that.”

“I mean not reallyyy...”

Haseul bumped into her. “C’mon Yeojinnie beannie. Why weren’t you in class?”

Yeojin hesitated. “I… Okay, fine. It was kind of epic anyway. So like, me and a couple of other apprentices went down by the icy shore and we found this cool sword. So we went up the icy slopes to mess around with it and well, there was an ice troll or two there, but it’s okay, ‘cause they’re weak to fire and I had that sword and after a few fireballs from my comrades, I drove that sword so far up their as-”

Haseul stopped walking. “Hold up, wait up, you WHAT?” she exclaimed.

“We... went to the shore.”

“No, at the end!”

“I… slayed a troll? Like face to face?”

Haseul rubbed her temples. “Oh lord… Again. I can’t let you out of my sight for one minute even. You’re not supposed to go and run off like that. You could seriously get hurt, Yeojin. Especially with dangerous creatures such as those lurking around. I don’t want you engaging in direct combat either. That puts you more at risk then if you were defending yourself from afar!”

Yeojin pouted. “Haseul, I swear I was fine. I was able to use the sword just fine. No one got hurt and we had some laughs.”

Haseul shook her head. “But what if the trolls were too quick? But what if you slipped on the ice while swinging the sword and the troll took that chance to hit you? What if there were three? What if the sword was too brittle and it couldn’t do any damage? O-or what if you hadn’t found that sword at all and you g-”

“Haseul!” Yeojin interjected. “I said I was fine. I can use the sword just fine. You’re overreacting.”

“I’m not overreacting! I’m just saying there’s a lot of factors that could go wrong.”

Yeojin shook her head. “You are! I’m starting to think you just don’t believe in me.”

“It’s not that I don’t! It’s just…” Haseul trailed off.

“It’s just what?” Yeojin pressed.

Haseul said nothing.

“It’s what, Haseul? You never want me out without you, never want me to fight with swords and axes, not even a dagger. I’m always in the back watching you and Kahei take on the blunt of everything, and I feel like a little kid who needs to be watched all the time. All the damn time. So tell me right now, what is it? Why can’t I do what I want to do?”

Haseul still said nothing.

Yeojin sighed audibly and turned her body away, frowning. “Fine.” She began walking away.

At this, Haseul felt a pit in her stomach and a sadness come over her. The cold wind began to pick up and blow snow all around. She could never stand the cold, but she felt it bite her even harder. Everything had a time and a place, but now wasn’t the time nor place to say. She wasn’t ready.

“Look, Yeojin,” she started. She took a few breaths and ran up to put her hand on Yeojin’s shoulder, making her stop.

“I love you. It’s not that I don’t believe in you. I just don’t want anything to happen to you. After what happened back when you were younger…” Haseul focused her eyes on Yeojin’s arm. “I want you to be the best you can be in magic, because I don’t want to lose you.” She darted her face away, but maintained her hand on Yeojin’s shoulder and took a deep breathe. “I’m sorry for overreacting. I shouldn’t have shouted. I know that you are quite capable of holding your ground and that I shouldn’t hold you back from your curiosities. From now on, I’ll let you fight with weapons if you want.”

This time, Yeojin said nothing.

Haseul continued, “I want you to be happy. I believe in you, I always have and always will. I just worry too much since you and Kahei are all I got right now. You’re my sister through and through, and whatever you do, I’ll be here to support you.”

After a few seconds, Yeojin held her hand and squeezed it tightly. She looked at her sister. The wind died down just a little, but only enough for it to barely be bearable.

“I understand. I know I can do things spontaneously. I’m sorry for going out, and I’m even more sorry for worrying you that I got myself into a dangerous situation. I’ll tell you everything from now on and I’ll stick with you.” She got closer and grabbed both of Haseul’s hands. “And I don’t want you to worry, because I love you too. I’ll try to be more careful and I won’t do it again,” she said as she hugged her sister. “And thank you for believing in me.”

Haseul blinked a couple of tears away and hugged her back. She slowly rubbed the back of Yeojin’s head like she always did when they were younger. They stayed like that for some moments. “I’m sorry, I still want you to be you. I’m not mad! You can still have an interest in other things! I just want you to have some sort of aptitude in magic to defend yourself, okay?”

Yeojin nodded. “Got it.” They stood there, not minding the cold that swirled around them since they had each other for warmth.

Haseul giggled. “It’s kind of cute how you have such a fascination with swords.”

“I’m not cute, I’m brave,” she huffed. They walked towards the dorms hand in hand.

Haseul grinned. “Let’s get you to your room, bean warrior. I need to check up on Kahei and see if she’s fallen asleep on her desk... again.”

“She’s a pretty cool girl… for a machine.”

“Oh shush, Yeojin. She’s the coolest elf you and me have ever known.”

“True that... Your elf,” Yeojin slyly said.

“Shut up or I’ll throw you over the bridge.”

\---

  
  


Haseul lightly tapped on the door of Kahei’s room.

Kahei was passed out on her desk with a quill in one hand and a potion of stamina restoration in the other. Several books were laid open on the desk and several more were thrown down on the floor. She had fallen asleep while doing late night research again. Haseul chuckled to herself and walked over to grab the empty potion flask out of her hand. “You need to stop falling asleep at the desk, it’s bad for your back,” she whispered into Kahei’s ear.

Kahei sleepily opened her eyes. “What?”

“You need to sleep on your bed for once,” Haseul said.

Kahei slowly put her head up and yawned. She fixed her hair and wiped the drool off her face while Haseul organized everything around her.

“Ah, thank you. I know I’m not looking my best right now,” Kahei said as she mended her robes up a little.

“You’re fine.” Haseul said passively as she discarded some bread that was starting to look funny.

“How long was I out for?”

“Dunno. Probably all night.”

Kahei noticed Haseul’s tone. “Hey, you alright?”

Haseul waved her hand dismissively. “It’s nothing. I’m just tired. Professor wanted me to lecture for her.”

Kahei pulled her chair closer to Haseul. “We’ve been with each other for the past few years, and I can tell something is bothering you. What is it?”

Haseul couldn’t really hide anything from her. “Eh… It’s just Yeojin,” she said.

“Oh my. Did she send fire atronachs to Ancano again?”

“No, no, but I wish it she did.”

“She went out again?”

Haseul groaned. “Yeah, again. She’s just been getting more antsy and adventurous. I want to keep her safe and she keeps getting herself into more dire situations. I don’t want to see her get into something she can't get out of. This time, she went off and killed some ice trolls in direct combat with a sword. I don’t want her to hate me, and I know she looks up to my dad a lot and wants to be a warrior like him. That’s just the thing. She won’t be able to defend herself if she just relies on weapons. She’ll end up like… like….”

Kahei knew what she was talking about and clutched her hands. “Are you ever going to tell her? You know, it might help her understand your motives and everything. It’s not really fair to her or yourself if you keep it inside.”

Haseul shook her head. “No. Not yet. I’m not ready yet. I’m afraid she’ll get angry and never forgive me. Then, it’ll be like losing her.”

Kahei pondered this for a while. “You’ll find the time,” she finally said. “In the meantime, please be patient with her and put your utmost trust in her abilities. She’s strong, like you. I believe she can have the best of both worlds if you let her have more independence. Eventually, you’ll need to tell her though,” Kahei said as she stroked Haseul’s hands.

“I do trust her. But we’ll see, we’ll see.” Haseul gazed at their intertwined hands and contemplated silently. “But thank you... for listening. I appreciate it a lot,” Haseul smiled. Kahei smiled back warmly at her.

Haseul looked down at Kahei’s journal that was wide open on the desk. She had a drawing of a stone hut with several little notes all around it. “Do you really need to go into such detail for the houses?”

Kahei turned her attention back to her notes. “Yes, there is so much that you can learn about a culture based off of their architecture.”

“Like what?”

“Well, if you haven’t noticed, Skyrim is cold. Very cold. Traditional Nordic buildings are partly built underground to conserve heat and wood and straw materials are used to help trap that heat better. It just works in this climate,” Kahei explained. 

Haseul laughed. “Kahei, you’re so detailed in this research of yours. I think people would be able to understand other cultures even without all these little things.”

Kahei clicked her tongue. “Yes, but I can recall a certain someone flipping out when I told them that some Bosmer are religiously carnivorous and cannibalistic,” she teased.

Haseul put her hands up and timidly waved them. “Y-yes, but then you explained why, and I mean, you’re not a cannibal, so it’s all good.”

Kahei smirked and turned back to her desk. “See? This is why I have to explain even the _little_ things.” She grabbed several thick books and laid them open in front of her. 

Haseul sat down on Kahei’s bed, on the edge near her desk. She looked at her skimming and flipping through the pages. “What are you working on now?”

“I’m trying to piece together the Nord religion to show why it is Nords act and think the way they do,” Kahei responded without peering up.

Haseul was intrigued. “Would you mind telling me about it?”

Kahei looked at her with unsureness. “Uhmm.. Are you certain? I don’t think you’ll understand most of it...”

Haseul nodded. “Go for it. I’m interested. If not, I’ll just listen to your voice.”

Kahei flipped to a page in her journal filled with writing. “Okay, well if you say so… here I go.”

She cleared her throat. “The Nords’ predecessors were the Atmorans, from the continent of Atmora from the North, and these people believed in animal gods, as detailed by tales of Ysgramor. This was incredibly different from the official religion of the Empire we’re all pretty familiar with, the Eight Divines creed. The old Nordic religion didn’t have Akatosh in their pantheon, and didn’t recognize him as a god since he was of elven creation. Over time, these beliefs evolved and became integrated with the standard Divines worship when Aleesia, the first empress of Tamriel back in the first era, created a compromise between the Nordic and Elven religions, which resulted in, again, the Eight Divines pantheon. There are many parallels between the Divines and the old Nordic pantheon, so the Nords had a relatively easy time adopting this new faith. For example, the Nordic Kyne is Imperial Kynareth, and is represented in the form of a great bird. However, Kyne was much more war-like then the kind Kynareth we know. She was also the wife of Shor. The Nordic pantheon place Shor, or as we know him as Lorkhan the trickster god of mortals, as the chief divine, but he hasn’t appeared in a while and may be presumed dead. The Imperial religion places Akatosh, god of time, as the chief deity, who is represented by a dragon. The old Nords had a dragon god as well, but he wasn’t a chief god unlike Shor or Kyne or Mara. You _could_ say that Akatosh and the dragon god were one in the same, but I digress.”

Kahei got up from the chair and grabbed a book off a bookshelf. She flipped to a page of a dragon drawing while walking around.

“I found that the Nordic dragon god was in fact Alduin, the world-eater. This account from an Altmer scholar states that Alduin is in fact the Nordic name for Akatosh. However, I don’t think this is the case, since from what I gathered, Alduin was a power hungry dragon. He was the spearhead of the ancient and violent Dragon War, a war between the dragons and dragon priests versus the mortals. Akatosh and all his interpretations across cultures is a benevolent god. I think this is just some historical conflict from foreign scholars dismissing the integrity of oral scripture, and one of the reasons why I believe traveling to the provinces and getting information from the land itself is integral. From this, I can conclude that the Nords regarded nature as a mediator in their daily lives, and thus continue to regard signs of superstition or omens as facts of truth.” she looked up from her book and looked at Haseul with bright eyes.

Haseul stared at her blankly and without words. She darted her eyes to the side. “I uh… I have no idea what any of that was. I got the part where Kynareth and Lorkhan were married though. I’m sorry.”

Kahei sighed as she placed the book down, “It’s okay. I got carried away explaining. Anyway, Alduin’s been vanquished for a while and we know what the Divines are, so all that’s whatever. It’s not really the focus of my research at the moment.” She sat on the bed with Haseul and leaned her head on her shoulder. “Even after all that,” she yawned.

Haseul took her hand. “You need to rest,” she said with a voice of concern. 

“I know, I know… But there’s something that keeps coming up again and again in my investigations. I would really like to explore the relationship between the Thu’um and its influence in Nordic culture.” Kahei closed her eyes.

“The Thu’um? What’s that?”

“It’s an ancient magical power. According to legend, Kynareth bestowed it to the ancient Nords to help them win the Dragon Wars, and has since then been a huge thing for the Nords. It’s also known as the Voice, and it’s really supposedly similar in power to the roars of dragons or something,” Kahei answered.

Haseul hummed. “I would like to help you with your research. I don’t like seeing you tired all the time.”

Kahei opened her eyes. “How? The only person I know who held that power was Tiber Septim way back when, and well he’s a god or whatever now. Ulfric Stormcloak is another contender, since he used the Thu’um power to kill King Torygg. But well… I don’t think he’d want to talk to me. He doesn’t seem to like elves very much and he’s caught up in the civil war. The Greybeards are the masters of the Thu’um, but are inaccessible on top of the big mountain in the middle of the province, the Throat of the World.”

Haseul frowned. “So there’s really no direct way for you to learn about this?”

Kahei shook her head. “Not really. But it’s okay, we can leave it at that. I don’t really need to include it in my overall research. It just would have been nice to delve in it.”

They sat together in silence before Haseul spoke up. “Didn’t your acquaintance Farengar in Whiterun do some research on dragons?”

“Yeah, and what about it?”

A wide grin began to form on Haseul’s face. “We could… go down to Whiterun. If we pack today, we can leave early in the morning tomorrow. You can talk with Farengar, get something out of it and see if it helps. You mentioned that this Thu’um power is similar to a power dragons have, so you could start there. If not, it’ll be like a little vacation. Besides, you really need to get out of this cold dorm into some fresh air. It’ll help Yeojin too, since she’s been itching to have an adventure. That and I know you love traveling.”

Kahei considered Haseul’s proposal before getting all giddy. “You know, I think that would actually be a great idea. Yeah, we can go!” Kahei got up from the bed immediately. “I’ll send a courier to let Farengar know at once. After, I’ll help you and Yeojin pack and we can get rested up for tomo- wait…” she stopped. “Don’t you have some classes to teach? How about Yeojin’s classes?”

Haseul rubbed the back of her head. “I.. I think that my class has had enough of my lessons,” she nervously chuckled. “Professor Marence just wants me to demonstrate things from time to time. I’ll let her know I’ll be gone on a research trip with Yeojin and she’ll understand. We came here to help you with your stuff anyway.”

Kahei clapped her hands together. “Alright! Sounds good! I’m gonna pack a few extra journals and books if you don’t mind. Probably need to check my leg’s not rusted. Oh! We should totally get the good, warm sleeping bags this time, and maybe some alto wine and cheese and garlic bread. Ooh, this is going to be fun!”

Haseul watched Kahei run out of the room, shaking her head at how she had forgotten her tiredness and lack of good sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are several types of elves in the Elder Scrolls. The main ones being the Bosmer (wood elves), Altmer (high elves), and Dunmer (dark elves). Bosmer are able to create and use prosthetics, and since they are the tree-loving elves of the world, they usually create some cosmetic antlers or horns to go on their heads and become closer to nature. Why can't they use that same concept to help elves that need a spare arm or something? Just a thought. Vivi is a deer, and Bosmer can get antlers so... You see where I'm going with this. I happen to have come across that in my research and I thought it was quite cool. You can easily find this information on the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages.  
> Bretons are an elf/human mixed race (I'm not going into how that happened) and naturally really adept at learning magic. Because of this, they pretty much dominate the sorcery scene aside from elves, and Haseul's got a big brain as an added bonus. I'm not that good at Korean, by the way, so I couldn't really figure out how to write Haseul's surname (조). I've seen it spelled 'Jo' or 'Cho'. I guess one is more emphasized than the other. Sorry for that. Their names aren't lore-friendly anyways.
> 
> I'll update everyone on a new chapter again. Happy new year, everybody!


End file.
